My letter to Wales Online about what the Lib Dems are doing to prevent tax evasion

All companies operating and individuals living in the UK should pay their taxes, and those who don't should be appropriately punished.

The Liberal Democrats want to tackle tax avoidance and clamp down on those who pay little or no tax on their profits. Since 2010, the Coalition Government has made 42 changes to tax law, closing loopholes and making changes to deter and prevent tax avoidance.

When the UK was President of the G8, we introduced a new global agreement to share tax information automatically, and in Government we have given HMRC £1 billion to tackle tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance.

It is having an impact: so far since 2010, HMRC has prosecuted over 2,600 people for tax crimes and HMRC's "High Net Worth Unit" has collected £852 million from the UK's wealthiest people.

In wake of the HSBC tax-dodging allegations, the Lib Dems want to make it illegal for firms not to stop someone else committing an economic crime - so accountants and banks that do nothing to stop people evading their tax will face the same penalties as the evaders themselves.

We must make tax evasion as socially unacceptable as drink driving. Cracking down on tax evasion and making sure that offenders face the full force of the law is part of the Lib Dems' plan to build a stronger economy and fairer society.